This invention is directed to silicone compounds, and methods of making silicate-based sheet and tube type siloxane polymers.
Silicones are made from silica by reducing it in an electric furnace to silicon metal, i.e. EQU SiO.sub.2 +2 C.fwdarw.Si+2 CO
The silicon metal is treated with RCl, typically methyl chloride, in the "Direct Process", as the basis of commercial production, i.e. EQU Si+2 RCl.fwdarw.R.sub.2 SiCl.sub.2
Hydrolysis of the organochlorosilanes gives siloxane structures which are used in the manufacture of many silicone products, i.e. EQU nMe.sub.2 SiCl.sub.2 +2nH.sub.2 O.fwdarw.n[Me.sub.2 Si(OH).sub.2 ]+2nHCl.fwdarw.n[Me.sub.2 Si(OH).sub.2 ].fwdarw.HO(Me.sub.2 SiO).sub.n H+(n-1) H.sub.2 O
Alternative routes to silicones involving the preparation of silicone polymers from silicate materials are embodied in U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,846 (May 9, 1972). This invention is an improvement and furtherance of the efforts described in the '846 patent to find other unique approaches in the manufacture of silicones.